By: Duane Blankenship | Category: Retail | Issue: April 2009
Marge Nixon, department manager for ladies, and Victoria Martinez, store manager, with some of the Madison private label clothing that will be featured at the Belk charity sale.
Henry Belk opened his first store in Monroe, N.C. in 1888. Many thought he would surely fail because of his radical notion of cash sales at the lowest prices possible. A hundred and twenty-one years later, Belk Inc. is the largest family-owned department store business in the nation. The values and traditions of the founder continue to guide his family, who still operate the business today.
Generations of Southern shoppers have come to rely on their local Belk stores to provide the latest merchandise, as well as the friendly service, fair prices and satisfaction-guaranteed policy that have applied from the early downtown stores to the stores now located in regional malls and neighborhood shopping centers throughout the southeast. Belk opened its Tulsa Hills location last year, featuring three major cosmetic lines – Clinique, Lancome, and Estee Lauder – and a great assortment of both ladies’ and men’s shoes, plus a large selection of clothing for the entire family, including national brands and exclusive private labels found only at Belk.
You can see the pride in store manager Victoria Martinez’s eyes when she talks about the history of the company and her store. “Belk has dedicated themselves to putting customer service first, listening to the needs of their associates, and building a relationship within each community,” she says. “Belk understands people make the difference!”
The Belk philosophy is that if you take care of your staff and provide the finest customer service offered anywhere, you’re going to cultivate loyal customers within your community. That philosophy for success continues to work for the company. “Management listens to employees and customers, values their ideas and views, and does their best to respond to them,” says Victoria. Belk currently operates stores in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma.
Brittany Calvert, Sue Ellen Reeves and Stephanie Harrison are the cosmetic counter managers at the Belk Tulsa Hills store.
All Belk locations feature charity sales two times each year. The first sale of 2009 will be from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 2 at the Belk Tulsa Hills location. This four-hour sale gives you the opportunity to enjoy merchandise offered at 20 to 50 percent off storewide, including special savings on rarely discounted brands. This promotion is valid only at the store and not on belk.com.
The charity sale benefits any participating local charity, church or school. To cash in on the savings, you first make a $5 donation to the participant of your choice. You then receive a Belk charity sale ticket. Individuals representing participating organizations within the metro Tulsa area are currently selling tickets. You may also make a contribution and receive your ticket at the Belk store beginning April 28. Not only will you get 20 to 50 percent off on merchandise, but you will also receive a discount of $5 on the first item you purchase. Therefore, you get your $5 back, and it costs you nothing to help out local charities and get some great savings besides. This is a win-win situation for both you and participating charities.
In conjunction with the Belk charity sale, you will also have the opportunity to earn $10 in Bonus Bucks from April 30 to May 5. You may also earn double points with your Belk Rewards Card and triple points with your Belk Elite Card. Details are available online or at the store. Plus, the day of the sale, you will be able to register for your chance to win a $1,000 Belk shopping spree by filling out the stub on the bottom of your ticket.
Mark your calendar for Belk’s charity sale May 2, when you can get some great deals and help out the community at the same time!
Blankenship graduated from the University of Oklahoma and has enjoyed a lifetime career in advertising. He started his own advertising business in 1993 and enjoys creating graphic art and writing. Hobbies include hunting, fishing and pencil drawings. Duane and his wife, Janice, have been married over 50 years and are active in their church and community. He has been a contributing writer for Value News/Values Magazine since 2005.
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